Fishing the North Coast: Sport crab season off to good start; Trinity full of steelhead, coastal rivers need rain

With no measurable rain to bring the salmon into the rivers, sport crabbing along the North Coast took center-stage this past weekend.

According to Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sportfishing, the opener was amazingly good. "There's a lot of crab out there. After a two-hour soak Saturday morning, we had roughly 25 to 30 keepers per pot. The crabs are in fair shape right now, but with the abundance, you can be real selective and keep the heavier ones. Like last year at this time, the bigger crabs are less full and the smaller ones have the heavier meat content," Klassen added.

Inside the bay, John Corbett of Eureka's Pacific Outfitters reports the crabs were equally abundant. "Everyone I talked to fishing the bay this weekend had limits of nice crabs. There were lots of jumbos as well as the keeper sizes. And just like the ocean, the smaller crabs were a little meatier," said Corbett. He also reports crabbers launching off the beach in Trinidad did real well. "Everyone I knew who fished up there came back with easy limits."

Weekend forecast

A couple of smaller, colder systems are headed our way, according to Reginald Kennedy of Eureka's National Weather Service. "The first rain should start early Thursday morning with showers continuing through Friday. The next one will arrive on Monday night and last into Tuesday. We won't see any big rainfall totals out of either of these -- up to three-quarters of an inch in the Smith Basin, and less than a half-inch in Humboldt County, it won't be enough to raise the river levels much, but it might slow the decent."

Weekend Marine Forecast:

The weekend offshore weather is looking good for the crabbers. As of Wednesday, Saturday's forecast is calling for five to 10 knot winds, and seas four to six feet at nine seconds. On Sunday, the wind will be coming out of the south at five to 10 knots, with seas four to six feet, including NW two feet at seven seconds becoming four feet at 14 seconds, and W building to three feet at six seconds. The forecast will likely change, so before you head out, check the marine forecast at noaa.gov/eka and click on the marine tab.

The Rivers:

Other than the Smith, all North Coast rivers subjected to low flow fishing closures -- including the Eel, Mad, Redwood Creek, and Van Duzen -- were closed as of Wednesday. Sections of rivers that are open include the main stem Eel River from the paved junction of Fulmor Road to its mouth, the main stem Mad River from the Hammond Trail Railroad Trestle to its mouth. Note: If a river that is subjected to low flow closures exceeds the minimum flow requirements for opening, the river will not automatically open. The Department of Fish and Game will evaluate flows every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to determine if the flows warrant opening. Be sure and call the low flow closure hotline, 707-822-3164, to determine if the river is open prior to fishing.

Eel River Estuary

The rain last week pushed a lot of the salmon that were holding in the estuary up river. With the river once again on the drop, fresh salmon should be entering and holding in the estuary.

Smith River

According to Mike Coopman of Mike Coopman's Guide Service, the Smith is real low and clear. "I haven't seen a lot of fish around and the conditions are pretty tough right now. Your best bet would be back-bouncing roe in the riffles or the deep holes," added Coopman. The Smith is currently flowing at just over 800 cfs on the Jed Smith gauge and is predicted to rise slightly above 1,000 cfs with Thursday's rain.

Upper Trinity

Steve Huber of Steve Huber's Guide Service reports the Junction City area is full of steelhead, and is extremely crowded. "Due to low and clear conditions, the fish can't move much and most are sitting in the holes. I've been fishing above and below Junction City and we're landing between two and six per trip. Most of the action is coming from side-drifting bait, but we're also getting a few on plugs. The best bite has been first thing in the morning or in the evening -- once the sun hits the water you'll need to really slow down your presentation to be successful," Huber added.

Chetco River

According to Val Early of Early Fishing Guide Service, the weekend on the Chetco was extremely crowded, but the fishing was decent. "The bite was spotty on Saturday and a little tougher on Sunday as the river dropped out and the river remained crowded. As of mid-week, the fish are only in a few holes and getting dark. We definitely need some rain to bring some more fresh fish into the system. We were supposed to get some rain this week, but now it looks like we won't get it until Sunday or Monday," added Early.

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